2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts the daily challenges that Willy Loman faces as his past haunts him. He struggles to find his place in the present since his past becomes so involved in his life. Evidently, his past causes some turbulence with his family and even himself which may have lead him to his death.
Throughout the novel, the laughter and background conversation of Willy and some Woman can be observed. The guilt of cheating on his wife, Linda and being caught by his, Biff added to a lot of weight on his shoulders. A constant reminder from Linda was were stockings that she was repairing. The guilt become so much for Willy to handle that his temper began to rise every time he laid eyes on those stockings. The stockings took him back to that night in Boston when he gave the Woman a pair of stockings. Incidentally, his actions took a significant toll on Biff's attitude for his education and future. The consequences of Biff's actions led Willy to suffer with fear of an unstable future. Biff always showed some hostility towards Willy that was a price Willy had to pay for his insensitive actions. Willy's past seemed to be a hinderance in his life leading him to life of disappoint and uncertainty.
Constant reminder of his past led to Willy taking his own life. His adamant behavior to move on from the past and live in the future cost him his life. Everyday, his past caught up to him and affected his mental state and decision making skills. His previous actions had an important role of who Willy was and impact they had on life and family.
This was the perfect play to choose for this prompt! There are great details and explained symbols in your paragraph about Willy's experience cheating on Linda. You answered the first half of the prompt really really well. The prompt says "write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole." Once you state the meaning of the work as a whole, you can connect the family tension and resulting depression to the deeper significance of the play and answer the entire question.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I agree with Emily that you chose a great play for this prompt, but that you didn't answer the second part of the prompt. I would like to add that you need to structure this essay a little better. In your body paragraph, you should really start out with a clear topic sentence, instead of jumping into random details. Try to characterize Willy's relationship to the past in a single sentence, and use that as the topic sentence. Then you can spend the rest of the paragraph using details and warrants to explain your claim. Also, I noticed that you don't have a clear thesis. I think once you answer the second part of the prompt, it will be easier to write one.
ReplyDeleteGreat play for the prompt, great details, but I was a little lost because of the organization. Make sure to proofread for typos. I don't really have anything different to say from Haley and Emily. This essay could use another body paragraph explaining how Willy's guilt that he kept running away from contributed to the overall meaning of the play.
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